Alexandre Fonseca takes the top job at Portugal Telecom

November 23rd 2017 | Multiple countries | Mobile | Multiple companies

Altice NV has appointed Alexandre Fonseca as the chief executive (CEO) of its subsidiary, PT Portugal SGPS SA (Portugal Telecom), according to media reports on November 21st citing a company statement. Mr Fonseca, who was the chief technology officer of the Portuguese telecoms service provider, will replace Claudia Goya.

Ms Goya, who took over the top job only last year, will become the chairman of Portugal Telecom. In this position, she will replace Paulo Neves, who is leaving the company. Some local media outlets earlier reported that Ms Goya was also leaving Altice, but a company official denied the reports. All the changes are effective immediately.

Mr Fonseca has been with Altice for nearly a decade, most recently as its technology head. A few years ago, he was responsible for implementing an optical-fibre project that helped the Portuguese operator reach out to 4m homes in the country.

The executive changes at Portugal Telecoms come weeks after its parent company, Altice, reported disappointing third-quarter results, driven by a poor performance in France and Portugal. Altice's CEO, Michel Combes, resigned from the company days after the announcement. The company appointed Dexter Goei to replace Mr Combes and also announced the return of the company's billionaire founder, Patrick Drahi, as the president of its board.